Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning
The nucleating agent <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-terephthalamide (BHET) has promising effects on poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-lactide) (PLA) under quiescent conditions and for injection molding applications, but its su...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Polymers |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/7/1395 |
| _version_ | 1797438020581851136 |
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| author | Stefan Siebert Johannes Berghaus Gunnar Seide |
| author_facet | Stefan Siebert Johannes Berghaus Gunnar Seide |
| author_sort | Stefan Siebert |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The nucleating agent <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-terephthalamide (BHET) has promising effects on poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-lactide) (PLA) under quiescent conditions and for injection molding applications, but its suitability for industrial-scale fiber melt spinning is unclear. We therefore determined the effects of 1% and 2% (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) BHET on the crystallinity, tenacity, and elongation at break of PLA fibers compared to pure PLA and PLA plus talc as a reference nucleating agent. Fibers were spun at take-up velocities of 800, 1400 and 2000 m/min and at drawing at ratios of 1.1–4.0, reaching a final winding speed of 3600 m/min. The fibers were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, gel permeation chromatography and tensile testing. Statistical analysis of variance was used to determine the combined effects of the spin-line parameters on the material properties. We found that the fiber draw ratio and take-up velocity were the most important factors affecting tenacity and elongation, but the addition of BHET reduced the mechanical performance of the fibers. The self-organizing properties of BHET were not expressed due to the rapid quenching of the fibers, leading to the formation of α′-crystals. Understanding the behavior of BHET in the PLA matrix provides information on the performance of nucleation agents during high-speed processing that will allow processing improvements in the future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:30:07Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fb70dc47dcbf464aa5ce1514879c1803 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4360 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T11:30:07Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Polymers |
| spelling | doaj.art-fb70dc47dcbf464aa5ce1514879c18032023-11-30T23:53:50ZengMDPI AGPolymers2073-43602022-03-01147139510.3390/polym14071395Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt SpinningStefan Siebert0Johannes Berghaus1Gunnar Seide2Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167RD Geleen, The NetherlandsAachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM), Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Urmonderbaan 22, 6167RD Geleen, The NetherlandsThe nucleating agent <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>′-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-terephthalamide (BHET) has promising effects on poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps;">l</span>-lactide) (PLA) under quiescent conditions and for injection molding applications, but its suitability for industrial-scale fiber melt spinning is unclear. We therefore determined the effects of 1% and 2% (<i>w</i>/<i>w</i>) BHET on the crystallinity, tenacity, and elongation at break of PLA fibers compared to pure PLA and PLA plus talc as a reference nucleating agent. Fibers were spun at take-up velocities of 800, 1400 and 2000 m/min and at drawing at ratios of 1.1–4.0, reaching a final winding speed of 3600 m/min. The fibers were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, gel permeation chromatography and tensile testing. Statistical analysis of variance was used to determine the combined effects of the spin-line parameters on the material properties. We found that the fiber draw ratio and take-up velocity were the most important factors affecting tenacity and elongation, but the addition of BHET reduced the mechanical performance of the fibers. The self-organizing properties of BHET were not expressed due to the rapid quenching of the fibers, leading to the formation of α′-crystals. Understanding the behavior of BHET in the PLA matrix provides information on the performance of nucleation agents during high-speed processing that will allow processing improvements in the future.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/7/1395PLA melt spinningcrystallizationnucleating agentsBHET |
| spellingShingle | Stefan Siebert Johannes Berghaus Gunnar Seide Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning Polymers PLA melt spinning crystallization nucleating agents BHET |
| title | Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning |
| title_full | Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning |
| title_fullStr | Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning |
| title_short | Nucleating Agents to Enhance Poly(<span style="font-variant: small-caps">l</span>-Lactide) Fiber Crystallization during Industrial-Scale Melt Spinning |
| title_sort | nucleating agents to enhance poly span style font variant small caps l span lactide fiber crystallization during industrial scale melt spinning |
| topic | PLA melt spinning crystallization nucleating agents BHET |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/14/7/1395 |
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